Alpine foils

[Nico]

I all.
Any one ridden these beauties ?
How do they compare to other brands and models ?
Which blades that they offer are better?
any infos will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Nico

[Robsw6]

Hi Nico,

Take a look at the Hydrofoil forum - there are reports from people who've used them.
They seem very well made, expensive (that is what put me off them, but you get what you pay for) and possibly more intermediate, than a beginner/intermediate foil.

Cheers, Rob

[Johhnn]

Hello Nico,
I have one. I am new to foils and just started at the beginning of this year. I have the freeride wing. It is higher aspect than some, but I didn't have too much trouble learning on it. Of course, it is very difficult to learn hydrofoiling in general, but I was able to learn on the Alpine just fine. I'm self taught. No one at my local beach has a foil yet.

I have not been able to compare with other foils in terms of performance or quality. I can say that the Alpine Foil is really perfect. It's a beautiful board and foil. It goes together easily and all the connections are very stiff. The joints are tight. I had to wait some time last year for the board to arrive, but the maker was very good about keeping in touch, updating me on progress while I was waiting.

What else can I say? I have hit the sandy bottom a couple of times and the board/foil/mast system held up fine. From my own experience, I can recommend this brand without any reservations.
John

[rowboat]

I've ridden old Carafino, Lift, Spotz, Sword and Alpine foils (maybe one or two others here and there), and the Alpine is my favorite for free riding (I have not raced them yet). Very well built and produced, great hydrodynamics, very stable but also turn well, and you can foil quite slow and pretty damn fast - which is what you want for free riding.

In my experience:
Lift is a very solid foil, rides well, cheapest, very nice carbon boards, but not as smooth and not as stable.
Sword has great feel, good roll-axis turns like Alpine but shorter longitudinal axis makes for slightly more twitchy feel. May be faster, however – several guys compete very successfully on Swords.
Spotz is most twitchy, especially their race wing. More 'square' profile. Not as fun for me, for free riding, but by far the most common foil amongst racers here in San Francisco.
Alpine is (for me) smoothest, most stable and also most fun ride. Feels like a 787 Dreamliner to me

I'm not sure why people think the Alpinefoil is expensive; the list price is something like €1662 outside of France, which is $2077 right now, and the Sword is $2650!

[Hawaiis]

I agree with what everyone said above.
The only weak point I think is the one screw joint at the board/mast and mast/fuselage.

[Nico]

Thanks guys.
This is all useful info, one way or another.